Kerala-Mangaluru on alert as money, weapons transit suspected

Mangaluru: Following the arrest of Talib Hussain, a suspected Hijbul terrorist in Bengaluru on Wednesday, intelligence agencies have alerted the police in Kerala border areas with Mangaluru to be vigilant for the transfer of money and weapons for terror sleeper cells in Bengaluru from Kerala. A similar alert has been sounded in Kodagu and Waynad in Kerala.

The alerts have been sounded after the central intelligence had alerted the Kerala police that the sleeper cells operate in that state in the guise of the petty shop and push-cart traders. According to police sources in Kerala and Karnataka, these push-carts and petty shop operators are suspected to have terror links and some of them could be sleeper cell operators.

In another level of alert, the intelligence has asked the police to keep vigil over the expensive vehicle's movements and big in size as they might be carrying weapons and money for the sleeper cells in Bengaluru. The intelligence has also noted that the suspected vehicle movement was between Kovalam in Kerala and Mangaluru.

It could be recalled here that the intelligence had also tracked satellite phone calls on the coast and Chikkamagaluru as per the ISD officials, which is now shifted to Sagar and Shikaripura in Shivamogga district. Two officials from the intelligence and internal security had visited both districts and investigated the source of Satelite phone calls. The calls were traced to have been made 15 days back on the Coast and later in Shivamogga district.